Though he prefers to fly solo, the author’s curiosity and aptitude for history would make him a good road companion.
Three journeys—to the western Mediterranean, Scotland and France—through the past twined with the present, from historian Robinson.
Robinson likes his trips to be leisurely paced—on foot, bike or slow boat, though he’s also well-acquainted with planes and buses—with frequent stops for a beer, to smell the roses and to get intimate with the past. The author says, “I feel something profound in places where tangible history survives to the present, as if by touching the walls I can transport myself across time.” History guides Robinson in two of these adventures—following Hannibal’s footsteps from Spain to southern Italy and Joan of Arc’s through France during her incandescent years battling the Burgundians. He braids a deep reading of their campaigns with his bright observations, adding broad slices of politics, history, geology, architecture and military history, as when he says, “The sacking of Saguntum was not just a casual act of violence perpetrated by a man who hated Rome, it was a coldly calculated strategic necessity.” The author also has fine eye for detail, remarking how, “White medieval stonework was blackened by time and weather, and copper roofs ran with a green patina.” In Scotland, Robinson strikes out upon moor and high ground, slips up to the Orkneys and spends time, uncharacteristically, in Edinburgh—he is not a fan of cities. The author freely admits to a fear of crowds and, for someone with wanderlust, he has a pleasingly comical ineptness with foreign languages—the French, not surprisingly, give him the most grief in that department. Perhaps it’s karmic retribution for all the hamburgers he ate in France, where he could have spent his admittedly meager euros at a local bistro instead.
Though he prefers to fly solo, the author’s curiosity and aptitude for history would make him a good road companion.Pub Date: April 8, 2011
ISBN: 978-1453766743
Page Count: 386
Publisher: CreateSpace
Review Posted Online: July 1, 2011
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
This is not the Nutcracker sweet, as passed on by Tchaikovsky and Marius Petipa. No, this is the original Hoffmann tale of 1816, in which the froth of Christmas revelry occasionally parts to let the dark underside of childhood fantasies and fears peek through. The boundaries between dream and reality fade, just as Godfather Drosselmeier, the Nutcracker's creator, is seen as alternately sinister and jolly. And Italian artist Roberto Innocenti gives an errily realistic air to Marie's dreams, in richly detailed illustrations touched by a mysterious light. A beautiful version of this classic tale, which will captivate adults and children alike. (Nutcracker; $35.00; Oct. 28, 1996; 136 pp.; 0-15-100227-4)
Pub Date: Oct. 28, 1996
ISBN: 0-15-100227-4
Page Count: 136
Publisher: Harcourt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1996
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
An extravaganza in Bemelmans' inimitable vein, but written almost dead pan, with sly, amusing, sometimes biting undertones, breaking through. For Bemelmans was "the man who came to cocktails". And his hostess was Lady Mendl (Elsie de Wolfe), arbiter of American decorating taste over a generation. Lady Mendl was an incredible person,- self-made in proper American tradition on the one hand, for she had been haunted by the poverty of her childhood, and the years of struggle up from its ugliness,- until she became synonymous with the exotic, exquisite, worshipper at beauty's whrine. Bemelmans draws a portrait in extremes, through apt descriptions, through hilarious anecdote, through surprisingly sympathetic and understanding bits of appreciation. The scene shifts from Hollywood to the home she loved the best in Versailles. One meets in passing a vast roster of famous figures of the international and artistic set. And always one feels Bemelmans, slightly offstage, observing, recording, commenting, illustrated.
Pub Date: Feb. 23, 1955
ISBN: 0670717797
Page Count: -
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: Oct. 25, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1955
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